A Life-Cycle Inventory for the Production of Vleochemical Raw Materials / Bestandsaufnahme zur Erstellung einer Okobilanz für oleochemische Rohstoffe

Abstract

An overview is given of the resource and energy requirements and the environmental emissions arising from the production of the oleochemical raw materials crude palm oil (CPO), crude palm kernel oil (CPKO), crude coconut oil (CCNO) and tallow (Ta). The total energy requirements range from 47 GJ/1000 kg (CPO) to 65 GJ/1000 kg (CCNO), the energy of material resource ranges from 66 % (Ta) to 96% (CCNO) of the total energy. Fossil energy sources comprise only 4% (CCNO) to 21% (Ta) of the total energy input. For CPO, process related emissions contribute most of the particulates, sulphur oxides, methane, sulphur and non-fossil CO 2 whereas NOx, CO and fossil CO 2 comprise most of the fuel related emissions. For CPKO, particulates, methane, hydrocarbons, SOx, CO and fossil CO 2 emissions are process related. For CCNO, process emissions contribute most of the particulates and non-fossil CO 2 emissions whereas fuel related emissions are mostly related to NOx, hydrocarbons, SOx and fossil CO 2 . For tallow, most of the process related emissions are methane, amonia, non-fossil CO 2 and N 2 O whereas fuel-related emissions contribute to most of the NOx, hydrocarbons SOx, CO and fossil CO 2 . For all the oleochemical raw materials, waterborne emissions are primarily process related. For tallow, many of the process related waterborne emissions are associated with phosphate fertilizer production whereas, for the vegetable oils, most of the BOD and COD emissions are associated with the clarification processes and wastewater treatment during the milling processes. For all raw materials, process related solid waste accounts for about 90% of the total solid waste. In the case of CPO and CPKO, the listed process-related solid waste is actually fuel-related because of self sufficient energy production by the buming of fibres and shells. Most of the process related solid waste for coconut oil or for crude coconut oil production comes from coconut harvesting and husking, since coconut husks are not being utilized as compost in the plantation for 1 % of all coconuts in the Philippines. For tallow, most of the process related solid waste is due to clay slime resulting from the processing of phosphate fertilizer from phosphate rock.